India and the US to discuss action to be taken against Hafiz Saeed

New Delhi : Pakistan was included in the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list last month, after the United States moved the resolution. Difficulties faced by Pakistan may rise in the coming times. Meeting will be held between senior Indian and US officials to discuss the action to be taken against Hafiz Saeed and his organisation. There are reports of initiating procedures for including some other Pakistani organisations in the terrorist list. The United States expressed concern over the Pakistan court permission to register a political party formed by Hafiz Saeed.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra are going on a three-day US visit. They are to meet many senior US officials for important discussions about terrorism. India and the United States had taken a decision last year of starting bilateral talks about anti-terrorism issue. This is the second round of discussions under this decision. The discussions in the meetings will revolve around Pakistan’s help to the terrorists and the possible actions against it.

Hafiz Saeed, the ‘Lashkar-e-Taiba’ Chief and mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks is preparing to contest elections in Pakistan. Hafiz Saeed has been declared a global terrorist by the United Nations and the United States. There is a reward of $10 million on his head. In spite of all this, the Pakistan Supreme court recently permitted him to register his political party ‘Milli Muslim League’ (MML).

Pakistan has created a façade of action against Hafiz Saeed and his organisations when the resolution for its inclusion in the grey list was moved in the FATF meeting. In fact, it has come to light that Hafiz Saeed and his organisation are collecting donations in Pakistan, unhindered. Pakistan had created a scene of keeping Hafiz Saeed under house arrest for 297 days.

On this background, the possible actions in the scenario will be discussed in detail in the secretarial level meetings between India and the US.

The process to declare some other organisations in Pakistan and their leaders as terrorists also will be initiated in these meetings. Last year, the United States declared the organisation Hizbul Mujahideen and its chief Sayyad Salahuddin as terrorists.

The United States has announced a reward of $5 million on the head of the Taliban Chief Maulana Fazlullah. Other than this, a reward of $3 million has been declared for information on Abdul Wali of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Mangal Bagh, of ‘Lashkar-e-Islam’, an organisation in the Khyber province of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the secretarial level meetings between the US and India will also address the issue of Afghanistan. An Indian Officer has informed that the agenda for the upcoming discussions between the Defence and Foreign Ministers of India and their American counterparts in the month of April, will be fixed in these meetings.